Highway guard



April 1941- H. F. ELLIOTT 2,238,683

HIGHWAY GUARD FiledJan. 29, 1940 INVENTOR Harvey RElliott ATTORNEYSPatented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATE HIGHWAY GUARD Harvey Louis S. rationof Ohio F. Elliott, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Wertz, Inc., Cleveland,

Ohio, a corpo- Application January 29, 1940, Serial No. 316,098

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to a guard device for use in the protection ofmarkings on highways and the like.

In the marking of highways and the like on which traffic is allowedduring marking, guards are used to prevent the recently marked portionsfrom becoming smeared or obliterated before the marking (usually a heavypaint) has'dried and can withstand the passage of trafiic thereoverwithout impairment. Present day guards are subject to many objections,suchas undue cost, inability to withstand repeated impacts withoutinjury, and impracticability due to care required in placement. They arealso quite bulky and therefore cannot be stored or transported invsuflicient quantities. Certain of these objections have become highlyimportant as the speed and efficiency of marking methods has increasedso that major difficulties in the marking of highways and the like arethe cost and timely transportation of the marking guards.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a guardwhich may be readily placed, which will not obstruct trafficunnecessarily and which may be easily observed by passersby.

Another object very durable and capable of being accidently struckwithout injury.

A still further object ls to provide a guard which will not be bulky orrequire a great deal of space when not in use so that large numbers ofguards may Another object is to provide a guard which is simple indesign and construction and which may be readily fabricated and which isrelatively inexpensive.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description accompanied by thedrawing in which like parts throughout the several views are indicatedby the same reference numeral.

In the drawing, v

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of devices embodying the presentinvention and illustrating how they may be used to guard a fresh markingon a highway or the like;

Fig. 2 is a view in guard devices shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a plurality of guard devices illustrating howthey may be compactly grouped or nested for storage and transportation;

perspective of one of the is to provide a guard which is i Fig. 4 is aview in perspective of a modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 5--5 ofFig. 4;

. Fig. 6 is a plan view of another modified form of guard device; and

Fig. '7 is an elevational view of the modification shown in Fig. 6.

Briefly the present invention is a guard device to be utilized forguarding freshly painted stripes or other markings on highways,sidewalks, etc., and which guard device has a simple structure thatrequires a relatively small amount of material and relatively littlefabrication but which shall be sturdy and. of sufiicient size to bereadily observed by motorists or pedestrians who pass the vicinity wherethe guard is being used. With reference to the accompanying drawing, theguard in its preferred forms comprises a single strip having a sinuousor approximately sinuous outline and adapted to be stood on its edgeover a highway marking to guard the same.

The form of the invention as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 includes a centralportion or web I, and oppositely extending end portions 2. The centralportion and the end portions may, as shown in these figures, besubstantially plane im form or they may be curved. Preferably thecentral portion and end portions have surfaces generated by a line,whether they be plane or curved surfaces. The end portions may mergewith the central portion at rounded corners 3 which may have a somewhatenlarged or thickened cross section to provide increased strength and tofacilitate the compact grouping characteristics of the guards. Fig. 3illustrates how compactly the guards may be grouped or nested, and itmay be seen that large quantities may be stored or transportedfordistribution in a relatively small volume or space.

Suitable support members are disposed along oneor both of thelongitudinal edges of the strip to give stability thereto when the stripis standing on edge. It is desirable to form recesses or cut outportions along the longitudinal edges of the strip and the remainingportions of the edge provide excellent support members 4 at which pointsthe guard may rest on the highway. By providing the longitudinal edgesof the strip with cut out or recessed portions, the amount of materialrequired for each guard may be considerably decreased, and also thepossibility of impairment of the fresh marking by the guard issubstantially reduced. The recessed portions also permit rain to flowthereunder without the guard into the lines of The distribution of thedevices may be carried out readily and at suitable speeds by loading arelatively large number of guards in a truck, and as the highway or thelike is marked the guards may be placed by dropping them at intervalsonto the marking manually or by suitable mechanical apparatus carried bythe truck. Since the present guards may stand on either of theirlongitudinal edges, selection and positioning them for placement do notpresent obstacles. If the guards are struck by trafiic before they arecollected for reuse, the possibility of permanent injury thereto isslight when they are made of suitable, deformable material. Glancingblows before the mark ing is dry will only move the guards aside andsince the area of contact between the marking and guard is only at thelocation of the support members, impairment of the marking is greatlyreduced. In the event a guard is struck in such a manner that it istipped over it will rest on the rounded corners 3 and the extremities ofthe portions 2, and still serves as a guard.

The form of guard shown in Figs; 4 and 5 differs from that shown inFigs; 1 and 2 in the shape of the recesses and the proportions of thesupport members 4. Also, reinforcing ribs 5 are shown at the corners 3to strengthen the guard at these points of fi'exure. It may be notedthat at each end of the central web I the ribs are offset with respectto the corresponding ribs on the other side of the corner so that theribs do not materially interfere with the compact nesting of the guards(see-Fig. 5).

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the outline of the guard istruly sinuous providing smooth side surfaces and eliminating corners.The cut out portions of the longitudinal edges are so proportioned thatthe remainder of the edges which provide the support members 4, arereduced in area.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specificdevices herein shown and described for purposes of illustration andexplanation may be made Without departing from the spirit of thisinvention.

What I claim is:

l. A guard for highway markings comprising a relatively thin one-piecemember of elastic rubberlike material which is of substantially uniformeach longitudinal edge of said member, of said projections support forsaid member when the guard stands HARVEY F. ELLIOTT.

